Semi-diurnal internal wave diffraction caused by Dixon Entrance, British Columbia

To develop an understanding of the complex internal tidal phenomena observed near and inside Dixon Entrance, an idealized numerical model was developed for the area, which explores the influence of various topographic features on the scattering of internal tides. The model uses a non-linear, two-lay...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAtmosphere-ocean Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 405 - 422
Main Authors Carrasco, A.C., Allen, S.E., LeBlond, P.H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Downsview Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2002
University of Toronto Press
Subjects
Coastal oceanography, estuaries. Regional oceanography
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Physics of the oceans
Surface waves, tides and sea level. Seiches
Canada
British Columbia
North America
America
INE, Canada, British Columbia, Queen Charlotte Is., Graham I., Dixon Entrance
INE, Canada, British Columbia
Strait
Wave diffraction
Continental slope
Two layer model
Bathymetry
Semidiurnal tide
Coastal zone
Topographical profile
Internal wave
Non linear model
Numerical simulation
Wave generation
Barotropic wave
Oceanic tide
Shallow-water equations
Finite difference method
Baroclinic waves
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Summary:To develop an understanding of the complex internal tidal phenomena observed near and inside Dixon Entrance, an idealized numerical model was developed for the area, which explores the influence of various topographic features on the scattering of internal tides. The model uses a non-linear, two-layered, frictionless finite difference formulation of the shallow water equations and is forced by a barotropic wave over simplified topography. It was found that the main bathymetric features responsible for the generation of semi-diurnal internal tides are the steep continental slope together with the orientation of Dixon Entrance. The prevalent baroclinic wave pattern, which is similar to the one found by Buchwald (1971), suggests that the western end of Dixon Entrance can be considered as an internal tide generation region for the open ocean. Use of the simple model allows easy identification of the generated waves. When the model is run with a non-flat channel it reproduces features observed inside Dixon Entrance.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0705-5900
1480-9214
DOI:10.3137/ao.400403